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C+History
History · Coweta

Coweta dates to 1840, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #63 of 131 in Oklahoma. What drives it

Most of Coweta was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Its Register listings are the Koweta Mission Site and the First Presbyterian Church of Coweta. Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1910.

1840founded
2on the National Register
0.9%homes built before 1940
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Coweta began

When was Coweta founded?

1840

Coweta dates its founding to 1840 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 1,187 in 19102020 census: 9,654186 years

How historic is Coweta?

C+

More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1897.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Coweta’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Coweta is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #63 of 131 in Oklahoma. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Coweta’s overall grade.
Founding era1840, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.9% of homes (±0.7) · typical OK town 7.0% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register2 listings, 1.9 per 10,000 residents · typical OK town 5.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 44%
NewerOlder
Oklahoma towns of 2,500+ (131)Ahead of 52%

Oklahoma towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oklahoma town has 5.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Coweta’s 1.9 sits near the middle of its state (42% of Oklahoma towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1840.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Coweta’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Coweta are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1840: 186 years of Coweta.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Coweta’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Coweta’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Coweta, 1840 to 1963

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1840
    FoundingCoweta is established
  3. 1897Post officeThe Coweta post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1919Born hereBruce Cowling is born here
  6. 1920Born hereCharles Harrison Brown is born here
  7. 1920Born hereJunior Barnard is born here
  8. 1921Born hereBill Bright is born here
  9. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Coweta came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Coweta.

Read it all →

Before statehood, when the Five Tribes or Five Civilized Tribes were moved to Indian Territory from the Southeastern United States, the area that is now Coweta was designated as part of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Coweta was named after a Lower Creek town on the Chattahoochee River in southwestern Georgia. It was first settled by Muscogee about 1840.

In 1843, Robert Loughridge, a Presbyterian minister, arrived in the area and established a mission, named "Koweta". He had gained Creek Council approval for this the year before. Loughridge left Koweta in 1850 to supervise the newly completed Tullahassee Mission School. Both schools closed in 1861 at the outbreak of the American Civil War, when missionaries left the Territory.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Coweta, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Looking out South2026Looking out SouthDrone shot South2026Drone shot SouthRick Bryan Field House2022Rick Bryan Field HouseMission Bell Museum2008Mission Bell MuseumCoweta High School2008Coweta High SchoolFall Festival Sept. 20072007Fall Festival Sept. 2007
On the map

Coweta on the map, 1963 to 1978

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Coweta. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Coweta on the 1963 USGS mapCoweta on the 1978 USGS map1963Coweta sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Coweta.

Every building

Coweta, building by building, 1910

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Coweta fire insurance map, 1910, sheet 11910Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Coweta

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Koweta Mission Site
Koweta Mission SiteFirst Presbyterian Church of Coweta
BuildingsSites

Architectural styles listings

Late Gothic Revival1
Koweta Mission SiteSite
First Presbyterian Church of CowetaLate Gothic Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Coweta, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 9,943

Between 1,187 and 9,943 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Coweta’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Coweta

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Bill BrightAmerican evangelist · b. 1921
Bruce CowlingAmerican actor · b. 1919
Charles Harrison BrownAmerican politician, Missouri · b. 1920
J
Junior BarnardAmerican musician · b. 1920
Kayse ShrumPresident of Oklahoma State University · b. 1972
Donald SloatUnited States Army Medal of Honor recipient · b. 1949
Places that used to be

Old burying grounds

Coweta’s post office has been open since 1897.

5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Coweta
BrunerGipsonIOOFMemorial ParkVernon

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Broken Arrow3 historic placesC

Questions about Coweta’s history

What year was Coweta founded?

In 1840, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Coweta’s post office opened in 1897, and the census of 1910 counted 1,187 people here.

How does Coweta rank for history?

Coweta is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #63 of 131 in Oklahoma. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Coweta?

Two places: the Koweta Mission Site (listed 1973) and the First Presbyterian Church of Coweta (2003).

How old are the homes in Coweta?

0.9% of Coweta’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 7.0% for an Oklahoma town; the median home was built in 1993.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.